Silver Rays of Sunlight
by xxsweetestdownfall
Summary: A Jackunzel one-shot. Set in modern times, High School AU. Rated M for suggestive themes.


**Silver Rays of Sunlight**

**A Jackunzel One-Shot**

Rapunzel sat in her room, looking at her reflection as she brushed her long, golden hair. Her mind swam with the events of the day- classes, homework, friends, projects. One class in particular grasped her attention, though. She thought fondly of art, and Ms. Toothiana. She was a wonderful teacher, always encouraging the students to try something new.

Her phone rang, chasing away her thoughts.

"Hello?"

"Punzie! We _have_ to talk!"

"Hey Anna! What's up?"

"Did you see who got switched into our government class?"

"Umm…?"

Anna sighed, and Rapunzel could practically hear her rolling her eyes. "Only the biggest hunk in our _grade_!"

The blonde smiled as her friend continued fangirling over the new football captain. As she listened, she opened her sketchbook and doodled mindlessly.

~.~.~.

"Dude, six o'clock."

Jack Frost turned ever so slightly, catching sight of the group of girls behind him. He casually scanned the crowd. "Which one?"

"The red-head."

"Seriously?"

Hiccup smiled. "She likes archery. I've been working on a design for a new bow. I was gonna talk to her and see if she'd like to hang out or something, but…"

"I know, I know. You're shy."

Hiccup scoffed. "I'm not _shy_, it's just that she's really pretty. And scary."

"All girls are scary, Hic."

"You know what I mean."

"Fine, I'll see what I can do."

Hiccup's smile reached both ears, and Jack chuckled. "I won't be around forever, you know. You'll have to start talking to girls yourself one day."

"Whatever," he replied, playfully pushing Jack's shoulder.

"By the way, did you finishing that design?"

The two boys sat down in their seats. First period would be starting soon. The hum of conversation was filling the room, and the teacher had yet to arrive. Jack took a moment to scan the place as Hiccup got out his sketch pad. The brunette tugged his long sleeve down a little farther, covering up the dragon tattoo that snaked up his arm. Jack had taken notice of that one in particular, and when he confessed that he had designed it, Jack demanded he design him one too. They had been friends since kindergarten, so Hiccup had pulled together everything he knew about his buddy to create the perfect representation. Before he could show his friend the first few drafts, the bell rang.

The class focused their attention to the front of the room. Miss Gothel was talking to a blonde girl. She looked somewhat familiar.

Jack nudged his friend. "Wasn't she talking with that girl you like?"

Hiccup shrugged. He hadn't noticed.

Gothel turned back to the face the classroom. "Okay, get out your vocabulary books and start studying section one. We will have a quiz on Monday. I have some blank notecards on the desk by the window if you want to make flashcards. And, class, _do_ be quiet about it." She sighed dramatically and sat down at her desk, shifting her attention to her computer.

The blonde took the empty seat in front of Jack and took her book out, no doubt turning it to the chapter to start studying. He rolled his eyes; girls could be so uppity sometimes. Still, he couldn't help but peek over to see what she was writing down. He smirked when he saw her doodles, making a mental note. Perhaps she could be useful after all.

"Here, what do you think?" Hiccup asked, handing his friend the sketchbook. Jack looked through the ideas Hiccup had come up with. He couldn't very well do anything with snowflakes, despite the fact that winter was his favorite season- he already had a tattoo like that. A dragon would look pretty cool, but that was more of Hiccup's thing. Maybe a name? He already had Emma's tattooed on him, and he had made a decision long ago that names were for family members only. Not even North, his foster dad, would have that luxury. He and Emma had been in the system long enough to know that parents can come and go at the drop of a hat, and the last thing they needed was a painful memory.

He focused his attention back to the sketches. They were all really cool, but none of them really jumped out at him. The blonde in front of him turned around.

"Hey, do you know how to pronounce this one?" she asked. He was taken aback by her suddenness.

"Umm, which one?"

"amour interdit?" she tried her best to use the pronunciation guide, but she was getting nowhere. The look on her face was set on determination, and he found his gaze falling to her lips.

"Oh, that one." He spoke it for her and couldn't help noticing how she smiled. She was bright, like the warm rays of sunlight. A light blush spread across his face.

"Hm…'forbidden love'," she read aloud, "why does such a terrible thing sound so pretty?"

He didn't have an answer for that.

~.~.~.

Merida tried her best to suppress a laugh. "Ya mean ta tell me ya were talkin' ta _Jack Frost_?"

"I guess so," Rapunzel replied. "He's the one with silver hair and gauges?"

"Ya, tha's tha one."

"I don't get it, what's the big deal?" Rapunzel plucked an apple off of the tree they were sitting under and took a bite.

"Well, fer one he's a weirdo. Him an' his friend. They have _tattoos_, ya know. An' their ears are pierced."

"So?"

"So…" Merida didn't know what to think, honestly. She was sure her blonde friend would have run at the sight of them.

Rapunzel sat back against the tree, closing her eyes and letting the small rays of sunshine warm her face. Yes, he did dress sort of odd, but so did she. She much preferred spring dresses to jeans and t-shirts.

"Hey, blondie!"

She sat up and smiled as her cousin walked toward them. Merida sighed in annoyance.

"Great, the firecracker's with you." He commented dryly.

"Excuse me bu-"

He waved a hand as if shooing her away. "Anyways, I just wanted to know how your first week has been going."

"C'mon Flynn, we aren't freshmen anymore. It was fine." Rapunzel smiled, she was glad she had someone looking out for her. "How about yours?"

"Eh."

"Eh?"

He sat down next to her, grabbing the fruit out of her hands. "It was alright."

"I saw you eyeing Elsa."

He nearly spit out the bit he had taken. "Wha-what do you mean?"

Merida took this opportunity to pounce. "Oooh, _someone _has a cruuuush…"

"Shut up, firecracker."

She continued teasing him by making kissing sounds. His face reddened and Rapunzel just smiled.

"It's okay to like someone, you know," she prodded, after Merida had lost interest in badgering Flynn.

He looked back to make sure that the red-head had indeed walked back inside to throw away her trash and began talking quietly. "She's pretty," he admitted. The nice thing about having Rapunzel around was that she was a good person to talk to. He felt like he could really be himself around her instead of pretending to be mister "all-figured-out".

The blonde nodded in agreement. "She is a junior, though."

Flynn scoffed. "What better than to have a good-looking senior boy ask her out, huh?"

Rapunzel giggled, and her mind jumped back to Jack. He was a senior, too. She shook the thoughts from her head. He wouldn't be interested in someone like her, anyways. She looked back to see her cousin lost in thought. The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

"Well, see ya around!" he called out, returning to the lunchroom inside. Rapunzel gathered her books and followed suit, heading to her afternoon classes.

~.~.~.

Rapunzel got into the car, buckling herself in. Anna was jabbering on about her latest favorite boy band and their new album. Rapunzel was only listening half-heartedly, though. Her mind was in another place entirely. She thought back to her locker at the very end of the day.

"Hey, goldilocks," a voice had called out. She was so used to Flynn's nicknames for her that she had turned around immediately. Instead of her brunette cousin, however, the voice belonged to Jack Frost. He was smiling, so she assumed there wasn't any danger.

"Hey, Jack, right?" she had asked shyly. His friend was with him.

"Yeah, and this is Hiccup," he had replied. The brown-haired boy smiled.

"What's your name?" Hiccup had asked. Jack laughed.

"Duh, Goldilocks!" he had said jokingly.

"It's Rapunzel," she corrected.

Hiccup smiled. "Hey, you're friends with Merida, right?"

She nodded, but hadn't liked where the conversation was going.

"Umm, well, I was wanting to talk with her…"

"About?" she had asked. His face flushed slightly.

"She likes archery, right?"

Poor boy. Merida would never go for someone like him. But, it wasn't her place to make that decision.

"Yeah, it's her favorite sport. Why?"

"I was coming up with a new design for a bow, and I wanted to know what she thought."

At this point his ears had been glowing red. She could tell it was difficult for him, so she had let him off easy.

"I'll let her know," she had said, turning on her heel and walking away.

"What do you think?"

Rapunzel lifted her head. She hadn't realized that she was daydreaming. "About?"

Anna sighed.

"Sorry," Rapunzel replied, "It's been a weird day."

"Tell me about it?" she asked. Rapunzel took a deep breath and confided in her friend.

~.~.~.

"Hey, a bunch of us are going to the movies later. Did you wanna tag along?"

Never in a million years did Rapunzel think that Jack Frost would be talking with her. They were just too different. At least, on the outside. The more she got to know him, the more she realized that they were quite the same. He loved kids, and did surprisingly well with them despite his appearance. She loved his tattoo designs, despite herself. His laugh was melodious, his smile was contagious, and his overall aura was comforting. Over the past few weeks they had begun talking, first during group projects in French, then he sought her out during lunch, and before she knew it she was getting invited to hang out with him.

"Um, sure! That sounds fun," she replied, smiling.

He seemed to relax. "Cool, it's at seven. Do you need a ride?" She looked nervous, so he added "I'll be taking Hiccup, and I think you guys live in the same neighborhood, right?"

"Yeah, sure, that'll be fine," she said. "Is Merida going?"

"I don't know, you'll have to ask Hiccup." He replied. "I told him to invite her, but you know how he is," he added, chuckling.

Seven o'clock came quickly, and she was just slipping on her shoes when the bell rang. She heard the door opening, and a muffled sound of shock from her mother. The color drained from her face- she hadn't even given her mom a warning as to what to expect. Poor woman…

As she left, her mother gave her a tight smile. A smile that said "you and I are going to talk about this later, and it will not be pleasant." She sighed inwardly, dreading the aftermath. The look changed, however, when Merida waved from the back seat.

"Hey Mrs. Corona!"

Her mother's face softened a bit. "Hey Merida! Keep these guys out of trouble, would you?"

Rapunzel's trusty friend gave a wink. "I got 'em!"

Jack opened the passenger side door for Rapunzel, and then he let himself into the driver's seat. The blonde smiled a bit wider. Surely that would win some brownie points with her mother. She waved as they drove away.

The movie was more or less boring. She had been introduced to Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut. The whole gang was boisterous, but fun. Merida had already buddied up pretty well with Astrid, bonding over their mutual love of combat. She followed Jack and the gang up to the very top row, settling down with a sprite. She had wanted to sit next to Merida, but Jack quickly plopped down beside her.

"Hey," he said softly. She felt her face get red and hoped fervently that it was too dark for him to notice.

"Hey," she replied. "You're friends are really cool," she added. He smiled, and a giggle escaped her throat.

About halfway through the movie, she took another sip of her soda. Jack was watching, patiently waiting. His heart was beating so loudly that he feared she would hear it. _This time_, he thought to himself, _this time I'll do it_. As her arm lingered on the armrest that they shared, he casually lifted his own, covering her hand in his. He was surprised at how calm he looked, purposefully ignoring her startled glance. To his amazement, she didn't move her hand; instead she shifted her palm upwards and intertwined their fingers.

~.~.~.

Rapunzel checked her phone once more. "I thought this was supposed to be a two-hour movie," she said.

Jack shrugged. "I guess it was only an hour and a half."

She had the sneaking suspicion that he knew from the beginning, but she didn't say anything.

"Well, since we have some extra time, I thought that-"

"Hold yer horses, Mr. Frost," Merida said. "Punzie an' I need ta be gettin' home. Now."

Rapunzel smiled apologetically to Jack. He just shrugged. "I'll get the car."

He walked out the door, and Rapunzel turned to her friend. "You didn't enjoy it?"

"Oh, ah did. Ah jus' recognize that look he's givin' ya."

"What look?"

"Trouble, tha's what."

"Did Hiccup give you a similar look?" she prodded. Merida punched her arm playfully in response.

~.~.~.

Rapunzel sighed, staring at her ceiling. Darkness had crept into her home. She wanted to cry. There was a soft knock on her door, and she didn't respond. It opened tentatively.

"Rapunzel?"

Still no response.

"Rapunzel, your father and I are just looking out for you. We want to make sure you don't get hurt. He's a senior, honey. Senior boys only want one thing with sophomore girls."

She turned over in bed, her back to her mother. The door shut again, and she drifted away into sleep.

~.~.~.

Jack Frost ran through the small forest area out back. He found the familiar tree and climbed near the top. A small fortress was hidden here, it's only give-away was the light that was coming from a hand-made window.

"Hiccup?" he whispered.

"Hey!"

He climbed in to their childhood treehouse. Sure, it was juvenile, but they loved it. Hiccup had lit a kerosene lamp, waiting for his best friend to arrive. Jack couldn't help but notice his friend's sketchbook, with Merida's face covering half the page.

"So you're smitten, huh?" he said coolly.

Hiccup laughed. "You've fallen pretty hard yourself, lover-boy. I saw the little hand trick you did at the theater."

"And I saw that you copied my idea," Jack countered.

"I prefer the term 'borrowed'," Hiccup replied.

"What have you got going on this weekend?"

"Not much, why? You wanna invite the girls out again?"

"It just seems like Rapunzel's mom wouldn't go for it unless she saw you and Merida with me, you know?" Jack looked down at his hands.

Hiccup frowned. "What is it?" His friend rarely cared what parents thought. "Are you telling me that you're feeling more for this one?"

Jack wouldn't meet his friend's gaze. When he finally looked up, he had sadness in his eyes.

"I don't know if she feels the same."

Hiccup put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, buddy, it'll work out."

"I hope so."

~.~.~.

Miss Gothel passed out their fourth vocabulary test. Rapunzel had been avoiding Jack all weekend, and she tried her best not to even look his direction during class. It was killing her inside, but she couldn't disobey her parents. Of course, the very first translation was "amour interdit".

Jack's heart was at the bottom of his stomach. He had wanted to catch her before class started, but she had hurried in just as the bell rang. It was a long, cold, quiet 45 minutes.

She managed to escape him during lunch as well. By the end of the day, he had had enough.

"If she won't come to me, then I'll just go to her."

Hiccup frowned worriedly.

~.~.~.

The cold night air didn't bother him as he walked down the road. The silence, however, was deafening. When he found her house, the lights were off. He walked to the back, where he saw a small balcony. Perfect.

He shimmied up the column, his heart racing. He was trying his best not to make too much noise, but every scrape and pat sounded like shots being fired. It took him the better part of ten minutes, but he managed to get up to the top. He peered through the glass door, knocking quietly. Someone stirred inside.

Rapunzel tried to go back to sleep, but the scratching noise at her door had her mind ticking. Could it be…? No, it was just a tree branch, or the beginning of rain. She finally decided it couldn't hurt to look. She got up, eyes adjusting to the light from outside. It seemed like the moon was shining with far more intensity than usual. Looking out her door, she saw nothing. She sighed, but decided that a cool night required at least a few moments outside. She opened the door and walked out onto the balcony, breathing in the night air.

As she closed her eyes, she felt a hand clamp over her mouth. Another pinned her arms behind her, and cold breath whispered a "sh…" across her earlobe. She shivered, but kept quiet.

"It's me."

Her eyes widened. Jack? What was he doing here? Had he been peeping on her?

"I need to talk to you." He let her go slowly, praying that she wouldn't scream. She turned to him, preparing to chew him out, but abruptly stopping. The way the moonbeams fell on his face was more enchanting than she could have imagined, and the hurt in his eyes struck dissonance in her heart. She froze, not knowing how to act.

Jack was equally stunned. Rapunzel was even more beautiful in the dark. She had a natural, golden glow about her, and her large eyes reflected the stars. He wanted to hold her so badly. It didn't help that her pajamas were thin and semi-sheer. His breath caught in his throat, and before he knew it they were leaning in for a kiss. As their lips touched, sparks went off behind Rapunzel's eyes. She gripped the front of his hoodie to keep herself from falling over, and he wrapped his warm arms around her. She sighed as the kiss deepened, and he tasted sweet and cool, like peppermint.

She didn't know what was happening, and neither did he. They were intoxicated with each other, stumbling around in the dark. After tasting her lips, Jack's primal instinct had kicked in- he wanted her. His hand gripped her hair and pulled her head back as his kissed trailed her neck. She gave a low sigh, begging him to continue. He found her bed and laid her on it slowly, staring into those deep green eyes. Their lips met again, and she was sweet like a summer berry.

The whole time he caressed her, she knew she shouldn't be doing this. She told herself it wasn't right, over and over again, but the rush of hormones clouded her better judgment and she was desperately losing the fight for self-control.

"Jack," she whimpered. Her soft voice set him off, and he tugged longingly at her nightgown. She pulled his sweatshirt off to reveal his lean, muscular build. She blushed as she felt his body against hers.

"We shouldn't…" she began, and his head fell.

"I know, but…" He met her lips again. She let her hands wander through his soft hair. He pulled back slowly, looking into her eyes.

"I think I'm in love with you."

~.~.~.

Rapunzel had cried all night. Her parents would never accept him; they couldn't understand the love she felt. They told her it was just hormones, just the thought of being with a "bad boy". But she knew differently. She knew. Her feelings for him were real, they were true, substantial.

She knew they were trying to protect her. She knew that they loved her and she loved them too. So when he asked her to run away with him, she didn't have an answer. She was torn. She loved her parents very much, and she loved him equally. But they would never accept him. They wouldn't even try to understand.

She sighed, clutching the bottle of pills in her hand. It was best, best for all of them. She wasn't strong enough to deal with these emotions. They had kept their relationship a secret for almost a year now, and she couldn't keep living like this. The times they spend laughing and singing into the sun was no match for the pain brooding inside her. The constant fear of her parents finding out, the guilt, she just couldn't take it. Not anymore.

When Jack Frost climbed up her balcony that night, the door was unlocked. He quietly let himself in. She was lying on her back, her face the perfect picture of serenity. Something was off, though, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. On her nightstand was a sealed envelope with his name on it. She had been so distant lately, perhaps this would explain why. He wanted to open it right there, but he knew that badgering her about it to make her blush and stumble would be much more fun. He nudged her softly. When she didn't respond a third time, it suddenly hit him. The reason why it felt so weird- she was never this still. His heart fell, and he tried to suppress the rising panic in his chest. Her skin was cold as ice, and her chest wasn't moving at all. Tears fell from his eyes as he desperately searched for a pulse, but his efforts were in vain. He looked around frantically, trying to find an explanation, when his eyes fell on the second object on her nightstand- a bottle of pills. The full weight of what she had done hit him like a brick and he broke down, holding her against him and sobbing into her hair. The pale moonbeams fell across her porcelain skin, and the last ray of sunshine was blotted out of his life forever.


End file.
